Essay Questions

How does Memoirs of a Geisha show the way that women are treated as disposable?

Sayuri and the other girls in the geisha house are auctioned off to men who will be their patrons without being asked if they want to be in the company of these men. Their virginity is auctioned off with minimal consent on their part and thier bodies are passed between wealthy men throughout their lives. When war comes, the geisha are kicked out of the geisha houses (although they might have nowhere else to go) and are told to go work in factories, which are bombed often. Women are treated as property that can be shunted around from place to place, rather than people with feelings.

How does Memoirs of a Geisha show how women use their sexuality to wield power?

Although Sayuri's rights as a woman are limited, she has power in her role as a geisha, and she uses it. When war comes, she calls on her connection to the General from years of being his mistress to try and be sent to a safer part of Japan, and when that fails, she relies on Nobu, who is sexually attracted to her and bid on her virginity. She also appeals to powerful men after the war when money is needed to rebuild Japan. Sayuri's power is extremely limited; however, she knows what power she has, and she knows how to use it. Making men extremely attracted to her, and keeping their attention while she is their mistress, makes them feel attached to her, which makes them more likely to keep her safe - and also allows her to call in political favors. Sayuri is extremely intelligent, and although her use of sexuality to gain power and safety is unconventional, it is also undeniably successful.

How does Memoirs of a Geisha teach us about the impact of World War II on Japan?

In the West, perceptions of Japan during WWII are often limited to seeing the Japanese as the villains, who bombed Pearl Harbor and killed millions of people in the Pacific. However, Japan was also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians, whose government drafted them to be killed, made them work in frequently-bombed factories, and led their country to a devastating loss in war that ended with the country in social and economic chaos. Memoirs of a Geisha provides a window into that by looking at Japanese civilians, who did not want war, did not cause violence, and were still swept up into the chaos anyway. This glimpse into civilian life humanizes the people that the West often demonizes, and shows us that Japanese civilians are just as much victims of war as American civilians - and in many cases, even more so the victims of war.